KUALA LUMPUR: The registration of new Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members has increased by 57 per cent to 146,000 members in the first quarter of 2022, said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

He said this was in line with EPF’s efforts to embark on a long-term strategy to expand the social protection coverage of Malaysians in an effort to strengthen the government-linked companies (GLC) support ecosystem.

"Currently, although various social protection initiatives have been introduced and some have received government funding, the average awareness of the importance of social protection and preparing for old age is still too low among a large number of Malaysians,” he said at the Insurance and Takaful i-Lindung facility launch ceremony here today.

Tengku Zafrul said one of the most important aspects was the strengthening of social protection and this responsibility was given to the EPF when the government started implementing the GLC Transformation Programme. - Bernama